


dancin' in the heart nebula (kissing among the stars)

by starsnatched



Category: NCT (Band), NCT Dream
Genre: Aged Up NCT Dream, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Character Study, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Jisung uses he/they pronouns, M/M, Mentioned Na Jaemin, Nonbinary Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Relationship Study, in the later chapters though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:34:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28010967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsnatched/pseuds/starsnatched
Summary: Two children run in the fields.“What do you think our soulmates would be like?”
Relationships: Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	1. among the cosmos

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writermercury](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writermercury/gifts).



> i am going to write a fic that is so sad
> 
> i want to thank and gift this to @writermercury (both on twitter and here on ao3, check vamp out!) for indulging me on this. without him, i probably wouldn't have cried and written this. 
> 
> anyway, let's get right into it, shall we? different chaptering (?) and writing style, here we go!

Two children run in the fields. The sun smiles down on them, happy to receive. 

Their voices combine into melodious laughter. Their feet pitter-patter on the grass. One of them is holding a flower.

“Jisungie,” One boy says, a cosmos flower is in his hand. The rays of the sun turn the petals a very bright pink. Not as rosy as the apple of their cheeks, but it’s close. “What do you think our soulmates would be like?”

The younger hums as the wind dances around them. The blossoms around them follow the breeze’s lead. 

“I dunno,” Jisung shrugs. Their parents talked about how they’re still too young to think about what their soulmates would look like. Growing up and having one’s own Years bestowed upon them is a call for celebration— and a cause for concern. “Pretty? Caring? Cute nose?’

“Cute nose?” The other boy laughs, tearing a petal from his flower. He lets it go and they watch as it’s blown away by the wind. “You need to aim higher than that.”

“Oh yeah? And what about you, Lele?”

“Well, I dunno, either,” Chenle scoffs. He throws the cosmos bloom up in the air. It floats, twisting and twirling in the air, before it falls into the sea of flowers. Lost. “Who needs a soulmate when I got you?”

The wind carries their voices, up, up, into the clouds. Unbeknownst to the two, fate giggles as she watches the both of them down below. She starts to unravel the thread of destiny.


	2. memories in the mooncakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, no, maybe so.

Their little conversation in the flower field fades into the back of their minds. Why wouldn’t it? It’s been ten years since then.

They had always been there for each other, through their ups and downs. Chenle was the first person Jisung confided in, when they realized they were nonbinary. The older boy had had whispered his secret about being gay into Jisung’s ear, first and foremost. And so much more. So much more.

“You did what?” The older gasps. He sits there, mouth agape, as his friend doubles over in laughter. The movie _Over the Moon_ playing on Chenle’s laptop is now forgotten. “Jisung!”

“It was just a—” Jisung giggles, rolling around the floor. His brown hair is a messy cloud. “It was just a handjob. I was curious, okay! And Jaemin hyung was there, so…”

Chenle sighs, shaking his head. “God, what are we going to do with you, Jisungie?”

“You love me,” The other person flicks the Chinese man’s nose. Chenle scrunches his face and gags. “What? You do! Don’t lie!”

 _Maybe_ , fate sings as she watches them. Jisung throws a pillow at the ravenet and she chuckles. _Yes, no, maybe so._


	3. the stars look very different today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and there's nothing i can do

In hindsight, they probably should have seen this coming. 

Chenle wakes up with a pounding headache and a string of numbers in front of his eyes. 

_22:19:54._ It’s those numbers that embed themselves into his brain, burrowing and staying there until he dies. The Chinese man brings a hand to his chest and feels his heartbeat. 

Oh. Oh, of course. 

“But who—?” Chenle asks the ceiling. The plaster does not respond. “Who is it?”

22:19:52.

“Please,” The ravenet clasps his hands together. “Please, at least give me a hint. Who’s it supposed to be?”

Specks of dust swirl around him, and the silence is deafening. 

“Fuck,” Chenle groans, reaching over to grab his phone. His body screams in pain. He unlocks it and scrolls until he finds a ‘Jisungie 🥺 💕’ and clicks on the chat history, slowly trying to type out a message. The man groans as another wave of pain washes over him. “Fuck.”

22:19:42.


	4. we got caught up in an orbit and now we're just little stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stars in the shape of numbers.

Jisung was in the middle of doing homework when stars in the shape of numbers explode in front of their eyes. 

The line of numbers is too long for him to comprehend, and he blindly reaches around to scribble as much of it as he can on a piece of paper. When the bright orbs disappear, Jisung shakes their head as they holds the paper scrap to their face. 

“Fuck…” Jisung starts up the calculator app on their phone. It doesn’t help, being just as confusing, and the brunett curses as he opens up Google instead. “The soulmate-timer thing is counting down the seconds, isn’t it?”

No one responds to him, but they weren't really looking for an answer— the way Years work in the universe has been ingrained in him ever since they learned how to count.

“How. Many. Seconds. Are. In. A. Year—” Jisung tries to type out the question, but he’s stopped by frantic messages. 

**💖 Lele 💖**  
jisung  
oh god jisund

The younger scrunches his nose, worried. He opens up the messages.

 **Me**  
what’s wrong, hyung?

 **💖Lele 💖**  
im gonns die  
*gonna  
oh gof  
ghe soulmate timeer

Jisung’s heart starts to beat fast. He stands up, grabs his jacket, and is out of his bedroom in record time. They can’t help but worry— and why wouldn’t he? 

**Me**  
on my way, hyung  
i’ll be there soon, i promise

**Author's Note:**

> :)
> 
> let me know what you think!
> 
> twitter: @starsnatched


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